HarderToEarn.com

2017 vs 2021

The Cost of Living Comparison

Median Income

$61,140 $70,780

+15.8%

Median Home

$322,425 $383,000

+18.8%

Housing Labor

5.3yr 5.4yr

1.0x harder

📊 Full Item Comparison

Item 2017 Price 2021 Price Change Hours 2017 Hours 2021 Verdict
🥚 Eggs $1.47 $1.67 +14% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🍞 Bread $1.33 $1.52 +14% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🥛 Milk $3.23 $3.54 +10% 0.1h 0.1h Easier
⛽ Gas $2.41 $3.05 +27% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🥩 Ground Beef $3.64 $4.33 +19% 0.1h 0.1h Harder
🐔 Chicken $1.47 $1.53 +4% 0.1h 0.0h Easier
🥓 Bacon $5.77 $6.64 +15% 0.2h 0.2h Easier
☕ Coffee $4.45 $4.71 +6% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍊 Oranges $4.69 $4.89 +4% 0.2h 0.1h Easier
🍬 Sugar $12.66 $13.19 +4% 0.4h 0.4h Easier
⚡ Electricity $0.14 $0.14 +2% 0.0h 0.0h Easier
🎓 College Tuition $9,037 $9,375 +4% 307.4h 275.5h Easier
🚗 New Car $36,113 $42,258 +17% 1228.6h 1241.8h Harder
🏠 Monthly Rent $971 $1,100 +13% 33.0h 32.3h Easier
🏥 Doctor Visit $74.24 $92.47 +25% 2.5h 2.7h Harder
🎬 Movie Ticket $8.40 $9.12 +9% 0.3h 0.3h Easier

📈 Got Harder to Earn

Items where labor hours increased from 2017 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

Gas

0.1h → 0.1h

1.1x

harder

🏥
Doctor Visit

2.5h → 2.7h

1.1x

harder

🥩
Ground Beef

0.1h → 0.1h

1.0x

harder

🚗
New Car

1228.6h → 1241.8h

1.0x

harder

📉 Got Easier to Earn

Items where labor hours decreased from 2017 to 2021, sorted by magnitude.

Electricity

0.0h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🐔
Chicken

0.1h → 0.0h

0.9x

easier

🎓
College Tuition

307.4h → 275.5h

0.9x

easier

🍬
Sugar

0.4h → 0.4h

0.9x

easier

🍊
Oranges

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

Coffee

0.2h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🎬
Movie Ticket

0.3h → 0.3h

0.9x

easier

🥛
Milk

0.1h → 0.1h

0.9x

easier

🏠
Monthly Rent

33.0h → 32.3h

1.0x

easier

🥚
Eggs

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🍞
Bread

0.0h → 0.0h

1.0x

easier

🥓
Bacon

0.2h → 0.2h

1.0x

easier

💵 Purchasing Power

If you earned the median income in 2017 ($61,140), you'd need $67,587 in 2021 to maintain the same lifestyle.

Based on CPI adjustment (245.1 → 271.0).

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